Silent Trident
The green canopy swayed like pieces of green cloth in the wind, the rustle of the leaves were quite calming on this fine summers evening. Many of he animal couldn't be heard over the stream, the clear looking water ran down as far as anyone could ever imagine. The wind's brisk waves brought a cool and calming feel to the surrounding area and it wasn't blisteringly hot out that day. The rains had come to a halt with only a light mist topping the area off, it was overall just a beautiful day. Xeph wasn't feeling too active today so she sat on an outcropping branch over the river, this branch hung low so she was able to dip a foot in the water, usually there wasn't anything lurking around in the this area of the river but she was still on alert. The girl was constantly observing her surroundings, her eyes darting back and forth as if she were in imminent danger when in all reality nothing was threatening her state of well being.
Due to the close proximity of the city she was pretty safe out here alone, the sun was coming down though and her father would be looking for her soon enough. But she didn't care too much about that, she was more concerned about furthering her skills. And that's exactly what she was going to do. Xeph quickly got to her feet, holding her balance on the low hanging branch before using it as a springboard to launch herself forward. She landed on a rock in the middle of the river, her eyes moving about to make sure she was still in the clear before her head tilted up to spot another branch just over head. She brought her knees to a crouching position and exploded upwards grabbing the branch and climbing up on it with little effort, this was her natural element and she was very at home here. Once she was back above the ground she swung and clung to the branches hanging above the river, elegantly tossing her body from one branch to the next. The cool breeze blowing her hair about as she used her acrobatic abilities to traverse the canopy.
After a few minutes she was further in the jungle which means she was further from the city, and further from safety. She was confident in her skills though and she was still close enough that no major danger would present it's self, not one she could not handle anyway. Once she stopped to catch her breath she noticed the darkness swelled over the sky; night was here. She watched the last light fade away before continuing across the branches using an occasional vine to make her way about the jungle, but an odd sound caught her ears. She quickly stopped turning her feet on the wide branch to face the sound that her keen hearing had picked up. The sound was not of an animal or anything natural, it sounded as if some wooden wheels of sorts ran across a hard surface, something anyone would know the sound of if they spent enough time in the market. She continued towards the sound now mindlessly interested in what was creating the noise. She had a feeling it was a merchant of sorts and her suspicions were correct. After a bit of climbing she arrived in a tree just above this merchant, the merchant's cart was full of goodies like weapons and foods, even what seemed to be books.
Xeph was impressed by the wide array of what this man had to offer but at such a young age she barely had any money to spare for the eye candy that was mounted on the cart. The girl decided to trail the merchant man, he didn't seem to be special in anyway, just a simple human with long blonde hair and a hood on. Her observations would once again be correct as the man threw his hood back, and stopped the cart looking back behind him and up. From his point of view nothing worth worrying about was there, maybe a few birds sitting in a tree were the least of his concerns. But what he did not know is that Xeph had vanished just before he could turn his head to look in her direction. She giggled softly just out of earshot, the man continued pushing his cart along. Xeph continued to tail this human, rustling bushes would cause him to quickly turn around after every few steps he'd take. But again nothing was there, the girl was maneuvering around him with such elegance that he was clueless, it almost became a game for her. That is until he caught her.
Xeph was on his right side down low and crouching in the brush when he spotted her, he didn't immediately respond to her, pretending he didn't see her. But she knew something was wrong when he turned and paused for a moment before continuing. She continued to follow the man, and if she was planing on doing anything she need to do it quickly as they were fairly close to the walls of the city now. Suddenly the man screamed aloud and pulled a dagger from his pocket rushing Xeph with insane speed. She barely was able to duck his attack, as he sped past her like a horse in full sprint. She tripped, but quickly regained her footing crouching down low like a predator her sword now unsheathed and ready to strike. He stared her down examining the girl, he saw she was quite young and chuckled as if this was going to be an easy feat. She hissed at him and lunged forward with her weapon high above her head ready to cleave his face in half, her attack was blocked though and she caught a knee to the stomach as well as a close fist to the back.
Xeph once again returned to her feet now in a defensive position, her attack was useless that time but she was about to shock this merchant. Xeph dashed left then right before planting her foot on the nearest tree and launching herself into the air, she did a complete flip in the air swiped her sword from high above her left shoulder down to right, striking the man. Unfortunately this wouldn't be enough to kill the merchant, but she continued her attack as the man was now wounded and on his back against the hard jungle floor. She screamed out before plunging her sword down and towards the mans chest, he rolled away from her attack. But the strike from earlier that hit his right shoulder would really limit his chances of survival against Xeph. She pursued her what was now prey again, doing an over head strike that was speeding towards his head. He pulled his dagger up and prevented the attack, now in a stalemate she was stuck pressing her sword into his large dagger trying to overpower the man.
Xeph finally gave way after he struck her knee with his foot causing her to fall back. She knew this merchant wasn't going to go easy and she need to help. She looked about until the merchant's cart came into view, a shiny object glinted as Xeph looked at the cart. She ran over to the cart and pulled the large weapon off the side of the cart, once in hand she didn't quite know what the weapon was but she knew it would counter his dagger quite effectively. She turned to the now standing merchant and charged him with the weapon, that weapon being a war trident. He was slow to react and this would cost him his life. Xeph impaled the man pushing until she drove him into the dirt, he was dead with in seconds.
After a a few minutes she'd pull the weapon out of the man and flung the blood of of it, hunger struck her mind as well as the realization of what she had just done. Killed a living person, this didn't weigh as heavy as one might think but it did really make her think about what she had done. She set the weapon aside against a tree and decided to feast on the man right then and there, her cannibalistic nature rearing it's head as she ate at the dead merchants limbs.
Once her eating was done and she had a full stomach of blood and human flesh she grabbed her new found weapon and returned to the cart to grab a few books, two of those books were tutorials that further your skill with a trident and a sword, tutoring you with the weapons. What a wonderful coincidence, the other few books she had taken would speak about politics and cooking. She gladly took them, but what to do with the cart? She decided to push it closer to the city and leave it just a couple yards from the entrance before returning to the city and then her home. Her parents waited in the house upon her return, a little less worried than she expected but none the less glad she returned. The night sky was now pitch black, with a nice half moon providing some light to the jungle city. Tomorrow morning Xeph would begin her training with the new books and weapon she had received, eager to use them and further her skills.
